Apart from the localities already mentioned, small quantities of amber are also found in Siam, Japan, Rumania, U.S.S.R., Mexico, California, and Greenland. The total annual world production is about 250,000 lbs., of which some 220,000 lbs. come from the Baltic coast. According to records, the largest single piece of amber found was unearthed in East [...]

Apart from being used in jewelry, compressed amber is used in the manufacture of certain dyes and varnishes. Such varnishes are particularly useful where a hard material is required, as in the preparation of ships’ flooring and 1ct diamond engagement ring. Another by-product in the making of compressed amber is succinic acid, which is also [...]

Amber has also been found in various states of North America, but the deposits are rare and the pieces found are small. That found in a clay shale in the Simi Valley, Ventura County, California, is of a brown and honey-yellow color, and it appears to be of older origin than the Baltic amber. Also, [...]

Apart from the minerals already described, there are a few other substances which are commonly used in jewelry. Like pearl, they should not be strictly included in this work, but to ignore them would be an omission which the reader would not expect. During the course of his business, the jeweler will have handled all [...]